Giants Should Have Hector Sanchez Backup Buster Posey

Spring training is coming to an end soon and the San Francisco Giants will start making some tough decisions on which players make the team and which ones do not. One position where a decision needs to be made is at catcher. Who will be Buster Posey’s backup at the position? While the Giants are leaning toward giving the job to Chris Stewart or Eli Whiteside, it’s pretty obvious the Giants should go with Hector Sanchez.

            The Giants made it clear they were going to play Posey at first base for a lot of games this season, so that means the backup catcher is going to play a lot of games this season. Given the Giants terrible offensive production last year, the team needs all of the offense it could get and Hector Sanchez gives the team that offense.  Chris Stewart may be a good fielding catcher but he can’t hit a baseball if his life depended on it. He only had a batting average of .200 last season. Whiteside was not much better as he only batted .218. Those numbers are not going to cut it for the Giants this season and neither Stewart nor Whiteside are showing signs of doing any better this season. Whiteside is only batting .250 in spring training right now and while that average is okay for the regular season, it’s not for spring training. Players usually post much better numbers in the preseason because they are facing a lot of pitchers who will not even make a major league roster. So Whiteside should be hitting a lot better than .250.  Stewart is only hitting .242 in the preseason so he also is showing that he struggles to hit against preseason pitching.

            Sanchez, on the other hand, is one of the hottest hitters for the Giants right now in the preseason. He is batting .405, four homeruns, 10 RBI’s, and three doubles in 17 games this spring.  I don’t expect those numbers in the regular season but he certainly is playing better than Stewart or Whiteside and that is what should matter right now. Even last regular season he batted .258 in limited action which was better than Stewart or Whiteside.

            Everyone says that Sanchez needs more minor league seasoning before he makes the big leagues but I think he’s ready. He’s 23 years old and that is when many players start their MLB careers.  He already showed that he can hit in the minors when he put up good offensive numbers last season in Single A and Triple A baseball.  So I don’t think he has much more to prove in the minors. Sanchez has to experience the majors sooner or later so why not now when the Giants need offense? The Giants can’t wait to get more offense. The offense has to be on the team now. The more players that can hit the ball, the better the team is.  When you can put on the field a player like Posey and Sanchez at the same time, your offense is better than when you have just Posey and Stewart or Whiteside.

            Another concern that the Giants have on Sanchez is that he will be catching for a great pitching staff and the pitchers might not be comfortable pitching to him yet. I think that is overrated. I don’t think the catcher has as big of an impact on a pitching staff as people make it out to be. Do you really think Lincecum and Cain are going to suddenly pitch like crap because the catcher is someone they are not use to? The Giants had this same stupid fear, when Buster Posey came up to the Majors in 2010. They felt that he would not do well with such a great pitching staff so the team kept Molina around at the start of that season. But when Molina struggled, Posey came in and took over and look where that lead the Giants: to a World Series title. Who is to say that Sanchez can’t come in at a young age and lead this strong pitching staff? 

            The Giants veterans did not do their jobs on offense last year so now it’s time to play the young guys. People like Brandon Belt and Hector Sanchez need to play because they are playing the best right now in spring training.  People like Huff, Stewart, and Whiteside need to sit on the bench. They had their chances and they are proving they are not going to hit the ball. The Giants cannot afford to have their best offensive weapons in the minor leagues.

Giants Should Not Resign Cain at the Expense of Lincecum

As most people already know, Matt Cain is in the final year of his contract with the San Francisco Giants and could leave the team as a free agent at season’s end. Everyone wants to see the Giants sign him to a new contract and the Giants certainly want to give him a new contract before the season starts.  I too, want to see the Giants give Cain a new contract as Cain has been a valuable member of the Giants rotation since he came into the league in 2005.

However, I do not want to see the Giants sign Cain to such a big contract that it forces Tim Lincecum to leave the team after the 2013 season.  Most people seem to think that the Giants should focus on signing Cain this year and worry about Lincecum next year, since Lincecum is still under contract for two more years. The problem is that Cain’s signing has a direct impact on Lincecum’s signing. Whatever contract Cain is given, Lincecum is going to want a bigger contract. Cain’s contract is going to determine how much money Lincecum wants.

As good as Cain has been for the Giants, he is not the ace of the team. Lincecum has and always will be the best pitcher on the Giants rotation as long as he is with the team. Lincecum has won two Cy Young awards, Cain has none. Lincecum has the same amount of career wins as Cain in fewer seasons. He also has more strikeouts and a better ERA in his career than Cain.  Lincecum knows he is a better pitcher than Cain and he will demand more money than Cain as a result.

This is why the Giants need to be careful what kind of contract they offer Cain.  If Cain demands being one of the highest paid pitchers in baseball, forget it. That would mean signing Cain to a seven year contract with around 20 million dollars annually. If a pitcher like Cain can get that kind of contract from the Giants, what do you think Lincecum is going to expect to get? He will want an eight year deal or even a ten year deal worth 25 million dollars annually. If the team ended up giving Cain a contract as big as Barry Zito’s seven year deal, they certainly wouldn’t be able to afford giving out another contract like that to Lincecum also. If they did, they would have a small budget for the rest of their team and couldn’t keep any of their hitters nor bring in new free agents. The Giants are not the Yankees and they can’t spend like them.            

So basically the Giants have to choose between the two pitchers which one they want to give the ridiculous contract too. While I would prefer neither pitcher to get a Barry Zito type of contract, if I had to choose I would give Lincecum the ridiculous contract. If there is any pitcher in the Major Leagues that deserves a ridiculous contract it is Lincecum. Considering how much success Lincecum had when he was still being paid the league minimum, he has more than earned it.  Cain has been great, but not Lincecum great.  So I would rather risk losing Cain to free agency and keep Lincecum than keeping Cain and risk losing Lincecum.

That is why the Giants have to be careful what they offer Cain. I would offer Cain a five year contract around 15 million a year and a team option for a sixth year. Then Lincecum can demand for a contract around seven years with a team option for an eighth year for 20 million a year. While that is still a lot of money to give to two pitchers it wouldn’t be as bad as giving Lincecum a 10 year contract. If Cain wants more than five years on his contract, let him walk. Who knows, he might test the free agent market and find out he is only worth five years and takes the Giants offer. If he leaves, then the Giants have more money to give their ace pitcher and get compensation draft picks for losing Cain. This would help the Giants in the long run. What the Giants cannot do is set the bar so high for Cain that they give Lincecum leverage to demand a contract never seen in Major League baseball. That would be not only bad for the Giants but bad for baseball in general.

Alex Smith Needs 49ers More than 49ers Need Alex Smith

           When Alex Smith was offered a contract by the 49ers last week, he should have accepted the offer. The contract was reportedly a three year deal worth 24 million dollars. Alex Smith, however, has refused to sign the deal. According to sources, he wants a five year deal with more guaranteed money.

            The 49ers however, are showing that they have the leverage on Alex Smith as the 49ers do not need Smith as much as Smith needs the 49ers.  By the 49ers trying to sign Peyton Manning, they are telling Smith that the team can move on without him.  Whether or not Peyton Manning signs with the 49ers does not matter. In my opinion the 49ers only went after Manning because they wanted to show Smith that the team will not cave in to his demands. The 49ers figure that by going after Manning, Smith will realize the 49ers don’t need him so bad and will test the free agent market.

The 49ers know Smith will not get a better offer from other teams. After all, this is a quarterback who has been in the league for seven years and he only had one decent season. Sure, that decent season came last year, but Alex Smith was not as great as everyone is making him out to be. The only thing he was great at was not turning the ball over. Otherwise he was just a game managing quarterback. He never threw for many yards in a game and he never scored many touchdowns in a game.  The passing offense for the 49ers was at the bottom of the league in statistics and was one of the worst teams in the red zone. That is why kicker David Akers had so many field goals. It was because Smith failed to score touchdowns when they got close to the end zone. Alex Smith benefited from having one of the best defenses in the league and that is the reason why they won so many games last year.  

That is why Smith will not get great offers from other teams.  The 49ers know this and that is why they are letting Smith explore his options. The 49ers are betting that once Smith finds out his true value in the NFL that Smith will realize that his best offer is from the 49ers and will come back to the 49ers and accept their offer. Maybe that was the 49ers plan all along. Maybe going after Peyton Manning was just a decoy to get Smith to surrender to the 49ers demands.  Sure there is a chance the 49ers do not get Manning and also lose Smith to another team but the 49ers don’t mind taking that risk. They must have confidence in backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick and believe he can lead the team to success. That is probably why they don’t mind playing hardball with Smith.

Smith, on the other hand, needs the 49ers. If he goes to another team, he will have to again learn a new offensive system and will probably not have a coach like Harbaugh that will make him look good. He also won’t benefit from a great defense on his team. This will make him prone to looking like the old Alex Smith that struggled the first six years of his career. So here’s my suggestion to Alex Smith: accept the 49ers offer. Don’t think that by threatening to leave, that the 49ers will beg for you to come back. They have other options, you don’t.

Trading Monta Ellis Will Help Warriors Long Term

           Not long ago, I stated that the Warriors needed to take a risk if they were ever going to be a contending team. Well, they took a risk all right. The Warriors parted ways with their best offensive weapon in Monta Ellis along with promising big man Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for center Andrew Bogut and forward Stephen Jackson. The team also traded Kwame Brown to the Bucks as a part of the package.

            The move appears to have angered a lot of Warrior fans as Monta Ellis was the team’s best player and they did not like seeing him leave for an injury prone center in Bogut and a clubhouse cancer in Jackson.  Not to mention, Bogut is currently recovering from an ankle injury and may miss the rest of this season. Stephen Jackson is also currently hurt. So basically, the Warriors subtracted from their roster. However, I see this as the kind of move the Warriors had to make. Sure, giving away Ellis will hurt the team’s slim postseason hopes but this trade will help the Warriors in the long run.

            Monta Ellis has been the team’s best player for many years now and it has gotten the Warriors nowhere. While the team has been stacked with many guards, they lacked a true center that can play offense and defense. Getting a center via free agency was going to be tough for the Warriors, given the team’s reputation as a poorly run organization. So the only way they would get a great center was through a trade. Ellis was one of the few players on the Warriors who had any trade value.  The team can easily replace guards as there are more to choose from in the NBA.  The Warriors also have players like Klay Thompson who can fill in for Ellis currently.  Finding centers are tougher to get, however. So when a team offers a center like Bogut for Ellis, you take it.

            Bogut is a big center who can score a decent amount of points but more importantly he can rebound and play defense. On defense, Bogut gets a great number of blocked shots and that is something the Warriors can use to help improve what has lately been a poor defensive team. Bogut is also only 27 years old so he is just entering the prime of his career and is still under contract for a few more years. This means Bogut can help out the Warriors for years to come. The biggest problem with Bogut is that he gets injured a lot but when he’s healthy, he is an effective player.  That is a risk the Warriors were willing to take and it is the kind of risk I felt the Warriors needed to make to help the future of the team.

This was not a trade to help the team this year as Bogut may not play this season. The Warriors are not going to the playoffs this year, no matter how much the Warriors may have thought they would. Their chances were so low at making the playoffs that it was not worth missing out on the opportunity to build for the future. By trading for the future, the team may now struggle to win many games but at least they will have a shot at a high draft pick.

Giving away Kwame Brown does not hurt the Warriors in this trade as he was hurt for most of this year and wasn’t going to return next year anyways. The only player I wish the Warriors didn’t give up was Ekpe Udoh as I thought he had a lot of promise as a defensive player and as a center for the Warriors in the future. However, Bogut is a player who has already developed while Udoh still is years away from reaching his potential.

As far as Stephen Jackson goes, I was shocked that the Warriors even thought about bringing him back after the problems he caused the franchise the last time he was on the team. However, to get a player like Bogut, you have to take the players that the other team is desperately trying to get rid of and it was clear Milwaukee wanted to get rid of Jackson. Best case scenario is that the Warriors trade Jackson in the offseason and get other players that can help the team for next year. If not, who knows, maybe Jackson can still help the team. Jackson did help lead the Warriors to the playoffs in 2007 for the first time in many years and he also plays good defense. All we can hope for is that Jackson is not a clubhouse problem.

In general, I like this trade because it meets the Warriors needs for a center and it was risky trade that I encouraged the Warriors to make. Now the Warriors have some hope for the future.

The Moves the 49ers Should Make This Offseason

         NFL free agency begins Tuesday and the 49ers are sure to make noise as they acquire players that will help make their roster better.  The 49ers defense was outstanding so I would just try to bring everyone on the defense back and not make new changes there. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  Offense is a different story so the team needs to make changes there. Here are the needs I think the 49ers need to address during free agency and the draft.

Get some wide receivers

            It is obvious the 49ers need to get some wide receivers, considering the team was depleted in that department towards the end of last season. Alex Smith was forced to throw mostly to his tight ends because the only big threat at wide receiver was Michael Crabtree.  The team should get some help from Joshua Morgan (if he resigns with the 49ers) returning from injury but that won’t be enough. The 49ers don’t need just one wide receiver; they need a few wide receivers. One wide receiver is not going to make up for the shortage of wide receivers that Alex Smith had to choose from. That is why the team needs to sign a big name free agent at wide receiver and maybe another free agent wide receiver who can be the number three receiver for the team. They also should draft a wide receiver in April but not necessarily in the first round. First round wide receivers tend to be expensive so the 49ers should draft a wide receiver in the later rounds as there are just as talented receivers in those rounds as in the first round.

Get a running back

            Last year Frank Gore signed a contract that will keep him with the 49ers for three more years but the team needs depth at the position. Gore is getting older and there are signs of him breaking down.  I wouldn’t sign a running back via free agency because running back careers are short and the ones on the free agent market tend to be aging running backs that were no longer wanted by their previous teams. Free agent running backs tend to be more injury prone as well. This is why the 49ers need to draft a running back and if they can, trade Anthony Dixon.  Dixon has not been that impressive as a running back and he won’t get much playing time with Gore and Kendall Hunter getting the bulk of reps.

 Get a punt/kickoff returner

            I am not sure if the 49ers will be able to resign Ted Ginn Jr. If Ginn returns to the team, they are set at the position. If he doesn’t return, the team definitely needs to find a return man via free agency. Kyle Williams is not a good replacement for the 49ers and he proved that in the NFC Championship game against the New York Giants.  His two fumbles in a critical game cost the team a victory.  Add that to the fumble he had in college that cost his team a big victory and you got a guy with a history of choking at critical moments.  I don’t mind Williams being a wide receiver; I just don’t want to see him return a punt again. 

Get an offensive lineman

            The offensive line improved a lot last season but the team needs a quality backup offensive lineman who can play any of the positions on the line and possibly start at right tackle.  Anthony Davis misses critical blocks a lot so his job shouldn’t be secured. He needs competition from a free agent acquisition. This free agent acquisition also should be able to play at guard because Chilo Rachal should not be brought back to the 49ers even as a backup. Every game he started at guard, the team did worse offensively.  The team also should get a lineman who can backup at center. Jonathan Goodwin is a good center for now but he’s getting older and the team should look to the future by signing or drafting an offensive lineman.

Get a backup fullback

            Bruce Miller is the man at fullback so there is no replacing him. However, what if he gets hurt? We saw how Moran Norris did when he filled in for an injured Miller last year and it wasn’t pretty. Alex Smith got sacked a lot more when Miller wasn’t playing. So the team should find a quality backup fullback.

Pros and Cons to Building 49ers Stadium in Santa Clara

              Recently, a Santa Clara County judge ruled that the 49ers’ stadium proposal couldn’t be put back on the ballot for a second vote. This paves the way for the 49ers to begin construction on a new stadium in Santa Clara by July, which will be ready by the 2014 season. The plan is to build the stadium in a parking lot near Great America.

Pros:

The stadium will be closer for many fans.

The majority of the 49ers’ season ticket holders reside in Santa Clara County. Instead of driving over an hour, fans in Santa Clara County will get to the games at an average of 15 minutes, depending on traffic.  The stadium will also be closer for 49er fans in nearby counties such as Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito.

The stadium will be closer for the 49ers.

The 49ers’ practice facilities are located in Santa Clara and most of the players reside in Santa Clara County. I bet most 49er players can’t find the nearest ATM when they’re in the City. It’s probably a pain in the neck for 49er players to constantly commute to San Francisco on game days so playing closer to home should make life easier for them. 

Better traffic.

            In San Francisco, there are only two freeways near Candlestick Park, US 101 and Interstate 380. US 101 is the only freeway that you can enter Candlestick Park from.  This causes a lot of traffic on game days as the routes are limited to Candlestick Park. However, in Santa Clara you can reach the new stadium site from US 101 and Highway 237.  The stadium is also near Interstate 880 and Highway 87. Additionally, you can also access the new stadium from the Lawrence Expressway and San Tomas Expressway. In Santa Clara, there will be several routes near the new stadium that will make the flow of traffic less congested.                             Public transportation will also help ease traffic on game days. The new 49ers stadium will be located near a railroad that services Amtrak and other commuter rails. It is also next to a Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Light Rail station and a local bus stop.

Better weather.

            San Francisco is known for having cool weather. Most games require fans to wear sweatshirts and jackets. Santa Clara, however, has much warmer weather and gets less rain than the City. With the new stadium, expect more sunny days and more fans wearing just T-shirts.

More to do.

Candlestick is located in a residential neighborhood so there are no nearby restaurants or bars that people can go to before or after the games. The new location in Santa Clara is much different. The Stadium will be right next to Great America so families can take their kids on roller coasters after watching the 49ers play. There will also be a hotel next to the new location that will be built by time the stadium opens. This hotel will have a restaurant and sports bar that people can attend before the games. There are also many other restaurants nearby that people can visit after celebrating a 49ers victory.

Cons:

49ers history is in San Francisco.

The 49ers have played their entire franchise history in the City by the Bay. The City has hosted many great teams including five Super Bowl Champions. It’s the place where legends like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Ronnie Lott thrived. Candlestick has seen many great playoff games and great plays like Dwight Clark’s “Catch”. It will take a long time for Santa Clara to witness the kind of history San Francisco did. Although the team is moving to Santa Clara, it’s heart will always be in San Francisco and its name will always be the San Francisco 49ers.

The stadium will be farther for many fans.

While fans in the South Bay will have an easier time traveling to the 49ers’ games, fans everywhere else in the Bay Area will have to travel more. Fans in Oakland and San Francisco will have to take the hour drive to Santa Clara and fans in the North Bay will have to travel even longer. Having the 49ers play in San Francisco was great because the city was centrally located in the Bay Area, however, Santa Clara is on the edge of the Bay Area benefitting only those fans closer to the South Bay.

No access to BART or Caltrain.

            Caltrain and BART are the public transits most fans use to get to sporting events in the Bay Area. Caltrain goes right to Candlestick Park and BART is close enough to the stadium that you can take shuttles to Candlestick Park with no problem.  On the other hand, BART does not go to Santa Clara County (although it eventually will) and Caltrain does not stop near the proposed stadium’s location. Caltrain passengers will have to either transfer at the Mountain View station and take the VTA Light Rail or take a shuttle from the Santa Clara Station. Without BART and Caltrain many fans may not be able to use public transportation to reach the new stadium.

Cost of the stadium.

            The city of Santa Clara is funding the stadium with several loans. The city expects to pay these loans off from the revenue the stadium generates. But what happens if the stadium doesn’t generate enough revenue? Some Santa Clara citizens worry that the city will have to use its tax dollars to pay off the stadium’s debt. The 49ers insist they will pay off any debts, but the fact that the stadium isn’t being funded directly by the 49ers concerns many people. Also, the cost of the police force that will be needed to secure the stadium on game days is a concern since Santa Clara doesn’t have the police force SF has.

Warriors Ownership Needs to Take Risks

           When Joe Lacob bought the Golden State Warriors over a year ago, he promised the Warriors would not be the same old team that plays poorly year in and year out.  So far, that promise hasn’t been fulfilled. Larry Riley is still the Warriors General Manager even though he was a part of the failures of the Chris Cohan era. And this year is turning out to be another wasted season where the team doesn’t play well enough to make the playoffs, but doesn’t play bad enough to get a top pick in the NBA draft.

            If Lacob wants to prove fans wrong, he needs to start taking risks to make this team better. The NBA trade deadline is March 15th and Lacob needs to make a trade to improve this team. The Warriors need a big man who can score points and get rebounds. One big man who can solve this problem is Dwight Howard. The problem is that Dwight Howard is a free agent at the end of this season and so the Warriors are reluctant to give up a lot of players for someone who may end up leaving at the season’s end. However, that has been the problem for the Warriors in years past. They are too cautious.  Being too cautious hasn’t gotten the Warriors anywhere in years past and it won’t this year either. That is why they need to trade whomever to get Howard.

            With this trade the rewards outweigh the risks. If Howards decides to stay with the Warriors, the team will have a center to lead the team into the playoffs. If he leaves, then the Warriors will have a lot of salary cap space from giving up guys like Monta Ellis or Stephen Curry to get Howard in the first place. That money can be used to get other centers via free agency.  Worst case scenario is that the Warriors lose Howard to free agency and the team has no replacements for Ellis or Curry. However, that means the Warriors will most likely be one of the worst teams in the league next year, which will give them a better shot at the top pick in the draft. That top pick can potentially change the fortunes of the Warriors for years to come. That’s a better outcome than the Warriors continuing to not make the playoffs, but not being one of the worst teams in the league.

If I were Lacob, I would trade Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, and Andris Biedrins for Dwight Howard. Andris Biedrins is garbage so there would be no risk in trading him. Furthermore, trading Curry may be a smart move as well since he is a young player who already has serious ankle problems. If we wait too long to trade Curry his injuries may worsen and is value will drop dramatically. Curry is replaceable as the Warriors have Klay Thompson who has the potential to be a better player. While, Ellis is a very good player he’s obviously no Dwight Howard. Although, Ellis has played many good games, he also has played many awful games. True stars of the NBA consistently perform well. It may not be popular trading guys like Curry and Ellis, but it’s the risk the Warriors need to take to improve the team’s future. Taking risks like these are what separate the good teams from the bad teams.